Overview
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the trilateral talks will be held in Geneva on February 17–18 and named presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky as Russia’s lead negotiator.
- Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said talks with Sergey Lavrov left him convinced Russia wants to take a step toward peace, while asking at what price that could come.
- Geneva lawmaker Guy Mettan described holding the talks in Switzerland as a gesture of goodwill by Moscow but said it is too early to speak of a thaw in bilateral ties.
- Mettan said Moscow expects concrete moves from Bern, citing possibilities such as partial sanctions relief or a decision not to join the next EU sanctions package.
- The Geneva round follows two sessions in Abu Dhabi on January 23–24 and February 4–5, where Russia’s team was led by Igor Kostyukov and Ukraine’s by Rustem Umerov, and comes after Switzerland joined the EU’s 19th sanctions package in December 2025.